Single telephone number access to multiple communication services

ABSTRACT

A platform provides access to multiple telecommunications services via a single telephone number. These services may include, for example, voicemail services, facsimile messaging services, paging services, and outbound calling services. A guest caller may call the single phone number to speak to a subscriber, leave a voicemail message for a subscriber, leave a facsimile message for a subscriber, or place a page to a subscriber. A subscriber may call the phone number to place outbound calls. In addition, a subscriber may call the single phone number to retrieve or send facsimile messages and/or voicemail messages. A subscriber may also call the phone number to configure service options. For instance, a subscriber may select routing options and choose what services are available to guest callers.

CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/925,447, filed Sep. 8, 1997, now abandoned.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to telecommunications systemsand more particularly to providing single telephone number access tomultiple communications services.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In conventional telecommunications systems, a number of differenttelecommunications services are offered to subscribers. Eachtelecommunications service requires a unique telephone number. Examplesof telecommunications services that require a unique telephone numberare automatic routing services, voicemail services, facsimile services,paging services, cellular phone services and personal 800 numbers. Oneof the drawbacks of each service requiring a different telephone numberis that managing and publishing multiple telephone numbers for asubscriber that uses multiple communications services can prove to bequite cumbersome. For example, a subscriber may have to provide a firsttelephone number for facsimile services, a second telephone number forvoicemail services, and a third telephone number for cellular services.Thus, a subscriber must remember all of the unique telephone numbers andmust make clear to people whom the subscriber gives the telephonenumbers what services are associated with what telephone numbers.Oftentimes, a party confuses the mapping of telephone numbers toservices and reaches the wrong service when dialing the telephone numberthat was given to the party. For instance, a caller may dial a numberthinking that he will reach a person and instead the caller reaches afacsimile machine.

Another drawback of conventional systems is the lack of flexibilityregarding the telecommunications services that are provided tosubscribers. A subscriber may need to provide access to differentservices to different people at various times. For example, a subscribermay need to have phone calls directed to the subscriber's workplaceduring the work week but may need to have phone calls directed to hishome or cellular phone on weekends. The subscriber may also wish tolimit the people that may reach the subscriber by phone on the weekends.Still further, the subscriber may wish to provide other people withaccess to his voicemail. Unfortunately, with conventional systems suchconfigurability of telecommunications services is not available.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a service node or platform for providingmultiple communications services on behalf of a party known as asubscriber. The platform may be implemented using a computer system suchas a server system that has an interface for interfacing with atelephone network. The platform may provide service for multiplesubscribers. Each subscriber may have a single phone number throughwhich access to all of the services that are provided by the platformmay be realized.

The platform may provide a variety of different telecommunicationsservices. For example, the platform may provide voicemail messagingservices, facsimile messaging services, electronic mail messagingservices, paging services, call routing services, and other types ofservices. Thus, the single platform may receive voicemail messages,electronic mail messages, pages, facsimile messages, and phone calls forthe subscriber. The services that are available to respectivesubscribers may be configurable such that different subscribers havedifferent services. The billing associated with using these services mayalso be configurable to be billed to a single account, a corporateaccount or to separate accounts.

The platform is readily configurable. The subscriber may select anoverride option that dictates how all calls will be processed. Forexample, a subscriber may configure the platform so that all calls areforwarded to a given destination, a messaging option or that a page issent to the subscriber. The subscriber may also choose the differentservice options that are available to different callers. The callers mayhave to enter identification information and based upon theidentification information, different service options are made availableto the callers.

The platform may include speech recognition capabilities. These speechrecognition capabilities may allow written messages to be converted intoaudio output and for audio messages to be converted into text orrepresentations or other forms of written output. The written output maybe directed to a printer, a facsimile, a computer system or othersuitable output destination.

The platform may advise the subscriber of events via a pager. Theseevents may be, for example, incoming calls. Pages may be sent thatidentify the incoming calls and the phone numbers to which the incomingcalls are destined. Such pages may be resultant in a scrolling displaythat lists the respective calls and the respective phone numbers.

The platform may provide audio messages that advise a subscriber ofevents. These events may include a receipt of different types ofmessages and receipt of pages. The audio response may be generated andoutput to the subscriber while the subscriber is on a call. The audiooutput may be at a volume that is substantially lower than typicalspeaking volume so as to advise the subscriber of the event but withoutsignificantly interrupting the call of the subscriber.

The platform is able to combine messages of different types. Forexample, e-mail attachments may be made to facsimile messages. Theresulting combination of facsimile message and e-mail message may besent to a destination specified by the subscriber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described inmore detail below relative to the following figures.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram that shows a first system configuration thatis suitable for practicing the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram that shows a second system configuration thatis suitable for practicing the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart that provides an overview of the steps that areperformed when a caller initiates a call to the platform of thepreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram that illustrates the format of a database that holdssubscriber profiles.

FIG. 4 is a diagram that illustrates the logical content held within asubscriber profile.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed when aguest caller chooses to speak with a subscriber party.

FIG. 6A is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed inFindme routing.

FIG. 6B is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed inscheduled routing.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed when aguest caller chooses to place a page to the subscriber.

FIG. 8 provides a flowchart of the steps that are performed when a guestcaller chooses to leave a voicemail message for a subscriber.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed when aguest caller chooses to leave a facsimile message.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed when aguest caller chooses to leave a facsimile message by selecting an optionfrom the guest menu.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed when asubscriber chooses to send a voice message.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed when asubscriber chooses to send a facsimile message.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed when asubscriber chooses to retrieve a voicemail message or a facsimilemessage.

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate the steps that are performed when asubscriber chooses to retrieve a voicemail message.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed when asubscriber chooses to retrieve a facsimile message.

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate the steps that are performed when asubscriber chooses to place an outbound call via the platform.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed when asubscriber chooses to alter administrative options.

FIGS. 18A and 18B depict a flowchart that illustrates the steps that areperformed when a subscriber chooses the feature activation menu toactivate/deactivate features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION I. Overview

The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a platformfor enabling multiple telecommunications services to be accessiblethrough a single telephone number. Thus, for example, access to pagingservices, facsimile services, routing services, voicemail services,calling card services, conference call services and 800 services, may bereached through a single telephone number with or without personalidentification numbers (PINs). The subscriber has complete control overaccess to these services. In particular, the subscriber may specify whatservices are available to what people at what time. Hence, a firstsubset of the services to which the subscriber subscribes may beavailable to a first party at a first time and a second subset ofservices may be available to a second party at a second time. Moreover,a single party may have access to different subsets of the servicesdepending on what time it is. The platform of the preferred embodimentof the present invention also provides the subscriber with the abilityto place multiple calls from any location using the same telephonenumber and billing all the calls to a single account.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the subscriber isassigned a single telephone number, such as a toll free 800 number,private network number, toll number or 888 number. This single telephonenumber may be used by other parties (“guests”) to reach the subscriberat any destination telephone number programmed by the subscriber. Inaddition, the single phone number may be used to send a fax to thesubscriber, to leave a voicemail message for the subscriber, or to pagethe subscriber. The subscriber may also program routing so that a callplaced to the single telephone number of the subscriber reaches thesubscriber at multiple locations. Also, as mentioned above, differentcallers may reach different services. As an example, calls from certaincallers may automatically cause a page to be issued or automaticallyplaced into voicemail.

The subscriber may access his account by calling the single telephonenumber that is assigned to the subscriber. Multiple outbound calls todomestic destinations or international destinations may be billed to asingle account. Alternatively, calls from multiple subscribers may bebilled to a single corporate account. Other billing options are alsoavailable. As a result, a subscriber need not enter a calling cardnumber multiple times when placing multiple calls. A subscriber may alsoaccess their account to make updates to a service profile that ismaintained. As an example, the subscriber may change the terminatingtelephone numbers that are used to reach the subscriber. Similarly, asubscriber may change which callers are sent to voicemail and whichcallers automatically cause a page to be sent.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a subscriber is assignedmultiple PINs. Each PIN is a short sequence of numeric characters orDTMF tones. Each PIN is associated with a different serviceconfiguration. One of the PINs is assigned solely for use by thesubscriber, and when the subscriber calls his assigned telephone numberand enters his PIN, the platform knows that it is the subscriber who iscalling and offers subscriber only services. The other PINs may beassigned to different service profiles. These PINs may be distributed toappropriate parties to specify what services would be available to thoseparties. For example, a first PIN may be given to family members of asubscriber, whereas a second PIN may be given to business associates ofthe subscriber. As a result, family members will have access to a firstset of services and business associates will have access to a second setof services. PINs may also be used to distinguish between subscriberssuch that each subscriber has a unique associated PIN or PINs.

II. Platform Architecture

FIG. 1A is a block diagram that illustrates a first system architecturefor practicing the preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherethe system architecture is part of a larger telecommunications network.The system includes a platform 10 that encompasses multiple components.The platform 10 provides single telephone number access to multipletelecommunications services for a subscriber. The subscriber, in thiscontext, is the customer to whom the single telephone number isassigned. The single telephone number may be accessed by both thesubscriber and callers to the subscriber (i.e., guests). The platform 10includes an automated call distributor (ACD) for performing-access andswitching functions. The ACD 18 routes incoming calls to the appropriatecomponents within the platform for properly handling the calls. The ACD18 is a conventional digital matrix switch that includes programs forperforming call queuing and distribution. A suitable ACD is the NorthernTelecom DMS-100. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a numberof different types of switching mechanisms may be used, including thosethat support call conferencing.

The platform 10 also includes an application processor (AP) 46 that isassociated with the ACD 18. The AP may be a dedicated computer systemthat provides intelligent application processing for the ACD 18. Certainfunctionality that may be performed by the ACD 18 is off-loaded to theAP 46 to enable the ACD to focus on performing the switching and queuingfunctionality. The AP 46 is linked to the ACD 18 via an ISDNimplementation of a switch/computer application interface (SCAI) link30.

The platform 10 includes an automated response unit (ARU) 20 thatprovides voice response and menu routing functions to a caller. The ARU20 facilitates caller input via selection of dual-tone multi-frequency(DTMF) digits, such as by pressing keys on a telephone keypad. The ARU20 may provide various automated menus which the caller may navigate toreach a desired service. The ARU 20 includes a

The platform 10 may have a voicemail/faxmail platform (VFP) 32. Thisplatform collects, stores, and manages both voicemail messages andfacsimile messages. It collects voicemail and facsimile messages overFeature Group D (FGD) trunks 33 from a telephone switching network 14.Calls that require voicemail or facsimile services are transferred tothe VFP 32 from the ARU 20, as will be described in more detail below. Atransfer occurs with the assistance of the ACD 18 and the switchingnetwork 14. The VFP 32 may be coupled to a printer and/or facsimilemachine.

The platform 10 may include multiple network implementation distributionservers (NIDS) 27, 34 and 36. Each of these NIDS may be implemented as aseparate computer system. The NIDS may be redundant, and generally servethe role of storing database information, including subscriber profiles.The NIDS 27, 34 and 36 may all be connected to the Ethernet LAN 26 inthe system configuration depicted in FIG. 1A, an NIDS 27 is shown aspart of the ARU 20 so that the ACP 24 can directly access subscriberprofiles without having to go over the Ethernet LAN 26. In general, theACP submits database queries to the NIDS 27 to obtain data on thesubscriber profile. The subscriber profile is used to determine whatscripts to play for a caller, to determine what communications servicescan be offered to a caller, and to determine what destination telephonenumbers and mailbox identifiers to use. The VFP 32 submits queries tothe NIDS 34 for billing information.

The NIDS 27, 34 and 36 are also interconnected via a token ring localarea network (LAN) 38. This LAN 38 is used for updates that are made tosubscriber profiles and to keep the databases stored on the various NIDSconsistent with a centralized profile database that is maintained by themainframe profile management 25 system 40 (which is on a dedicatedmainframe or other suitable computer system). When a modification orupdate is made at one NIDS 27, 34 or 36, the affected NIDS sends amessage to the mainframe profile management system 40, which makes theupdate to the centralized profile database and then ensures that each ofthe profile databases on the other NIDS are updated.

The platform 10 may also include a web server 42 that is connected tothe token ring LAN 38 to provide a web site that a subscriber may accessover the Internet 44. The web page at the web server 42 enables asubscriber to update the subscriber profile for the subscriber over theInternet. These updates may be forwarded to the mainframe profilemanagement system 40, which in turn may update the information stored atthe NIDS 27, 34 and 36. Alternatively, an NIDS may be resident with theweb server such that the NIDS associated with the web server updates theprofile information and passes the update on to the mainframe profilemanagement system 40. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that theweb server 42 may also be part of an Intranet rather than the Internet.Still further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the webserver 42 may more generally be a program that provides a user interfaceto subscribers so that the subscribers may update service profileinformation via computer. Hence, a program may be a program resident ona server that is part of a distributed system such as a LAN or wide areanetwork (WAN).

The web server 42 is described in more detail in co-pending applicationentitled, “System for Internet-Based Profile Management in a SingleNumber Communications Server,” which was filed on even date herewith andis assigned to a common assignee with the present application and whichis explicitly incorporated by reference herein.

The call originator 12 depicted in FIG. 1A represents the origination ofa call to the platform 10. This call may be from a subscriber or acaller that is seeking to reach the telephone number that is assigned toa subscriber. Moreover, the call may originate from a facsimile machineor a computer. The call reaches the switch network 14 of the serviceprovider in any of a number of different ways, including local exchangecarrier, private line, dedicated access line, or international carrier.The switch network 14 routes the call to the ACD 18 within the platform10 via a release link trunk (RLT) 16. The RLT 16 is a voice trunk thatmay be released from a call when the call is extended back to the switchnetwork 14 by the ACD 18. The processing of the call within the platform10 will be described in more detail below.

FIG. 1B shows a second system configuration that is suitable forpracticing the preferred embodiment to the present invention. Thissecond configuration differs from the first configuration in severalrespects. First, there is no NIDS within the ARU and no NIDS associatedwith the VFP. In this second system configuration, database queries fromthe ACP 24 in the VFP 32 are passed over the Ethernet LAN 26 to the NIDS36. Second, the VFP 32 is extended directly to the ACD 18 via FGD trunks33′. As a result, call transfers from the ARU 20 to the VFP 32 may beperformed by the ACD within the platform 10. There is no need fortransferring the call outside of the platform.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the system configurationshown in FIGS. 1A and 1B are intended to be merely illustrative. Forexample, multiple platforms may be implemented within a giventelecommunications system. Furthermore, multiple operator consoles 28may be provided within the platform 10 and multiple ACDs may beprovided. Each ACD may have its own associated AP. Still further,multiple ARUs may be provided within a given platform and multiple ACDsmay be combined with a single VFP. Still further, the components may beconnected by different types of LANs or interconnections that differfrom those shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 2 provides an overview of the steps that are performed when a callis placed to a phone number that is assigned to a subscriber. Initially,the call originator 12 places a call to the phone number that isassigned to a subscriber, and this call is switched via the switchnetwork 14 to the ACD 18 within the platform 10 (step 50 in FIG. 2). TheACD 18 receives the call along with information regarding the dialedphone number and automatic number identifier (ANI) of the caller (step52 in FIG. 2). The ANI is a value that uniquely identifies the callingphone number. The ACD 18 then queries the AP 46 with the subscribertelephone number to obtain routing directions. The AP 46 uses thesubscriber telephone number as a key to a look-up table to determinewhere to route the call (step 56 in FIG. 2). Given that the telephonenumber is a specially designated telephone number for providing multipletelecommunications services through a single number, the AP sends aresponse message to the ACD 18 that instructs the ACD to route the callto the NAS 22 of the ARU 20 (step 58 in FIG. 2). In addition, the AP 46sends a message to the ACP 24 of the ARU 20 that includes call contextinformation (step 60 in FIG. 2). The call context information mayinclude the subscriber phone number, ANI, PIN, and other information.When a PIN is used, the ARU may prompt the user to provide the callerwith the PIN when the ARU initially receives the call. The ACP 24 usesthis call context information to retrieve a subscriber profile from theNIDS 27 (FIG. 1A) to determine what script to execute (step 62 in FIG.2). The profiles are described in more detail below.

The call is routed from the ACD 18 to the NAS 22 (step 66 in FIG. 2).The NAS 22 receives the call and detects the tone of the call todetermine whether the call is a facsimile call or not (step 68 in FIG.2). The NAS 22 has the ability to detect a fax tone and notifies the ACP24 if such a fax tone is detected. The detector of the fax tonesinvolves listening for a sequence of tones over a fixed time period.These tones match those produced by a facsimile machine. If such tonesare heard, a fax tone is detected. The ACP 24 may then execute a scriptto transfer the call to an appropriate fax destination. The ACP 24executes a script for properly processing the incoming call (step 64 inFIG. 2). These scripts are discussed in more detail below.

The database stored on the NIDS 27, 34 and 36, and the mainframe profilemanagement system 40 may hold multiple subscriber profiles. FIG. 3depicts an example where the database 70 holds a first subscriberprofile 72 for subscriber I and a second subscriber profile 74 forsubscriber 2. Each subscriber profile holds information like that shownin FIG. 4. Each subscriber profile 82 includes an identifier 84 thatuniquely identifies the profile. The profile also holds information 86that identifies which services are available to the subscriber andguests. As mentioned above, different categories of guests may havedifferent sets of services available and these sets are set forth in thesubscriber profile in the services available section 86. The servicesavailable to a guest may include, for example, voicemail services,facsimile services, paging services and direct telephone contact with asubscriber. The information regarding the services that are availablemay be, for instance, stored as flags that specify whether the servicesare available or not to this category of guest. Moreover, conditionalinformation such as time constraint information may be stored to specifywhen the services are or are not available to the category of guest. Theservices available to a user may include the ability to send or retrievevoicemail, the ability to place a call and gain access to a number ofdifferent information services.

The subscriber profile 82 may also hold status information 88 regardingthe respective services. The profile may also hold service-specificinformation 90. The information 90 may include information such asforwarding phone numbers to be used in routing phone calls, telephonenumbers to be used in paging, the type of facsimile messaging tofacilitate, and so forth.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the depiction of thedatabase in FIGS. 3 and 4 is intended to be merely illustrative and notlimiting of the present invention. The database may be differentlyconfigured and the information may be contained across multipledatabases in alternative implementations.

The profile retrieved from the database will designate whether thecaller is a guest or a subscriber. The profile will also specify theservices that are available to the guest or subscriber. The discussionbelow will focus initially on instances where a guest calls into theplatform 10 and then later on instances where a subscriber calls intothe platform 10.

III. Services

A. Overview

As was discussed above, the ACP 24 executes a script depending upon theretrieved subscriber profile. If the phone call is from a computer offacsimile machine, the call is extended to the VFP 32. Otherwise, theACP 24 executes a script that causes a menu of options to be output tothe user in the form of recorded audio messages. In particular, the ACP24 commands the NAS 22 to play certain audio messages. The menu may becustomized for guests or subscribers. For instance, the menu may berecorded by the subscriber or the subscriber may choose amongpre-recorded menus that were recorded by different parties. The initialguest menu may, for example, take the form of an audio recording thatasks the caller “How may I help you reach your party?” and then itemizesa number of options. The options that are itemized depends upon theservices that are available based upon a retrieved profile for thesubscriber. The ordering of the options may be customizable by thesubscriber. These options may include:

1. Speak to party.

2. Leave a voicemail.

3. Send a fax.

4. Send a page.

The caller responds to the guest menu. The caller may provide a voiceresponse, DTMF response or tonal response. The platform may support oneor more of such response options. For illustrative purposes, thediscussion below will assume that the caller responds by depressing akey on a touch-type keypad. Thus, if the caller wishes to leave avoicemail, the caller presses the “2” key. The ACP 24 responds to theuser input to transfer the call to the appropriate destination forenabling the caller to be serviced. If the caller chooses to leave avoicemail or send a fax, the call is transferred to the VFP 32. Theother services are handled by the ACP 24.

B. Routing

Suppose that the caller chooses the option of being connected to thesubscriber (e.g., the first option in the guest menu set forth above).FIG. 5 is a flowchart that illustrates the steps that are performed insuch an instance. Initially the guest caller chooses to speak to thesubscribing party (step 92 in FIG. 5). The ARU 20 then determines whatrouting is to be applied based upon routing options chosen by thesubscriber (step 94 in FIG. 5). The appropriate routing is then applied(step 96 in FIG. 5). The routing may include Findme routing andscheduled routing.

With Findme routing, a subscriber may specify multiple terminatingtelephone numbers that the platform 10 can call to reach the subscriber.For example, the subscriber may specify up to three phone numbers thatare attempted in sequence. A subscriber might specify his office numberfirst, his cellular number second and his home number third. When suchFindme routing is applied, the ARU 20 places the caller on hold while itplaces calls to these numbers in sequence. FIG. 6A is a flowchartillustrating the steps that are performed in such an instance. The ARU20 tries the next phone number in the find me sequence (step 98 is FIG.6A). The ARU then determines whether it gets a live answer or not (i.e.,whether a person answers the phone call) (step 100 in FIG. 6A). If thecall results in a ring no answer (RNA) after a specified number ofrings, or if the call is picked up by an answering machine, the call isterminated, and the ARU attempts to place a call to the next number inthe sequence (see step 98 in FIG. 6A) provided that all of the numbershave not been exhausted (see step 164). When all numbers have beenexhausted, the caller may be asked to call again, leave a voice message,or choose between leaving voicemail or paging.

The ARU 20 includes a digital signal processor (DSP) to detect theinflection of a voice answering the call to distinguish a live personanswering the call from an answering machine answering the call. If allof the phone numbers are exhausted, the ARU may stop Findme routing andapply alternate routing treatment, such as routing the call to thesubscriber's voicemail, issuing a page to the subscriber, presenting aclosing message recorded by the subscriber, or presenting the callerwith an option of any combination of the above described choices. If,however, a live answer is realized (see step 100), the ARU connects thecaller to complete the call (step 102 in FIG. 6A).

FIG. 6B is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed whenscheduled routing is utilized. Followme routing is a feature where asubscriber may specify one or more routing schedules that may eachinclude one or more terminating numbers to reach the subscriber. Whichrouting schedule is applied is based upon date, day, and/or time (step110 in FIG. 6B). The given routing schedule is then applied (step 112 inFIG. 6B). A couple of examples are helpful to illustrate operation ofscheduled routing. A subscriber may specify two numbers to be tried insequence (such as his office telephone number and cellular telephonenumber), during working hours on weekdays. The subscriber may, on theother hand, specify two other phone numbers, corresponding to his hometelephone number and his voicemail message box, during weekends andnon-working hours during the weekdays. The telephone numbers that arespecified may, alternatively, refer to PCS devices. Similarly, asubscriber may specify that one telephone number is to be called firstduring certain days and hours of the week and that another telephonenumber is to be called first during all other days and hours. Alternaterouting treatment may be applied if no live answer is obtained, as wasdiscussed above relative to Findme routing.

The routing options are described in more detail in co-pendingapplication entitled, “Multiple Routing Options on a TelecommunicationsPlatform,” which was filed on even date herewith and is assigned to acommon assignee with the present application and which is explicitlyincorporated by reference herein.

C. Paging

A guest caller may also choose to page a subscriber (step 114 in FIG.7). In such an instance, the ARU 20 prompts the guest caller for acallback number (step 116 in FIG. 7). In particular, the ACP 24 plays arecorded audio message for the caller such as “please enter yourcallback number followed by a #.” The guest caller responds by enteringthe DTMF digits via the guest caller's phone set.

These digits are collected by NAS 22 and recorded by ACP 24. The ACP 24queries the subscriber profile for the subscriber to obtain the pageraccess number, the subscriber's PIN, and pager type. The call is thenlaunched to the pager company (step 118 in FIG. 7) by the ACP 24instructing the ACD 18 to place an outbound call using the pager accessnumber retrieved from the subscriber's profile and to use the dialstring provided by the pager type and to use the subscriber's PIN. Thisprocess may entail a handoff to an operator to facilitate alphanumericpaging. The NAS 22 places the call which is routed by the ACD 18 overthe switch network 14 to the subscriber's pager company network. Whenthe call is connected, the NAS outpulses the dial string and enters thesubscriber's PIN when prompted. The NAS provides the numeric callbacknumber that was entered by the caller and recorded by the ACP 24 whenprompted. If the page is successful, the guest caller is so advised ofthe success (step 122 in FIG. 7). The guest caller is also informed whenthe page is not successful (step 124 in FIG. 7). The paging may includetext paging which produces a textual page to the party being paged.

It should be appreciated that the paging may, alternatively, beinitiated over the Internet. In particular, rather than using atraditional paging company to initiate the page, the present inventionmay initiate the page over the Internet via the web server 42.

D. Voicemail

Another service that is available to a guest caller is voicemail for asubscriber's voicemail box. FIG. 8 shows the steps that are performedwhen a guest caller is transferred to voicemail for a subscriber. Theprocess is initiated by either the caller selecting the voicemail optionfrom the guest menu or the subscriber configuring the system so that theguest caller is automatically sent to voicemail per the subscriber'sprofile (step 130 in FIG. 8). The ARU 20 then puts the guest caller onhold while placing a call to the voicemail system (step 132 in FIG. 8).The ACP 24 sends a message to the AP to transfer the call to thevoicemail system (step 134 in FIG. 8). The voicemail system may be anexternal voicemail system or that provided by the VFP 32. For purposesof the discussion below, it is assumed that the call is to betransferred to the VFP 32. The subscriber profile holds informationregarding the phone number of the voicemail system.

The AP 46 then sends commands to the ACD 18 to originate a call to theVFP 32 (step 136 in FIG. 8). The ACD 18 originates the call to the VFPvia the RLT 16 to the switch network 14 (step 138 in FIG. 8). The VFP 32answers the call (step 140 in FIG. 8). The ACD 18 then connects with theNAS 22. The NAS 22 outpulses the call context information which includesa subscriber's number and a mode indicator. The mode indicator is avalue that specifies what type of call is being transferred. Possiblevalues for the mode indicators are as follows:

Mode Indicator Transfer Type 1 Guest caller leaving voicemail 2 Guestcaller leaving fax with voice annotation 3 Guest caller leaving faxwithout voice annotation 4 Subscriber voicemail/faxmail retrieval 5Subscriber list maintenance 6 Subscriber recording mailbox name

In this case, mode indicator is a value of 1 indicating that guestcaller is leaving a voicemail message (step 142 in FIG. 8).

The VFP 32 uses the call context information to retrieve thesubscriber's account and confirm acceptance of the call (step 144 inFIG. 8). The VFP 32 uses the subscriber's telephone number to identifythe account so that it may be retrieved. The account includes asubscriber's voicemail box. The ACD 18 then releases the connection tothe switch network 14. Specifically, the ACD releases the caller's callfrom the ARU and the call to the VFP from the ACD (step 146 in FIG. 8).The switch network 14 then completes the call connection by connectingthe guest caller's call to the VFP call (step 148 in FIG. 8).

The VFP 32 receives the call and plays a greeting for caller, which mayeither be a standard system greeting, a custom greeting prerecorded bythe subscriber or other customized greeting chosen by the subscriber(step 150 in FIG. 8). The subscriber profile may specify which greetingto play. The guest caller then leaves a voicemail message (step 152 inFIG. 8). The VFP prompts the caller to enter a callback number andattaches the ANI (if entered) to the voicemail message. As a result,when the subscriber retrieves the voicemail message, the subscriber mayplace an outbound call to the caller using the ANI for a dialed number.This is exploited in the auto-callback feature described below. The VFP32 also takes action (such as incrementing a counter) to identify thearrival of the voicemail message (step 154 in FIG. 8A). The VFP 32 mayalso, at the subscriber's option, play music while a caller is on hold.

After the guest caller has left a voicemail message, the VFP 32 promptsthe guest caller with a number of options. These options may be playedto the guest caller as prerecorded audio messages. These options mayenable the guest caller to review the recorded message, to rerecord themessage, to deliver the message, to cancel delivery of the messagehang-up or return to the guest menu.

E. Faxmail

A guest caller may also transmit a facsimile message to a subscriber.FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the steps that are performed in such aninstance. The guest call is routed to the ARU 20 (as has been describedabove), and the ARU detects the presence of the fax signal (step 180 inFIG. 9). The ARU 20 transfers the call to the VFP 32. The VFP thenretrieves the subscriber profile from the database (step 184 in FIG. 9).When the VFP accepts the call, the caller transmits the fax message andthe VFP receives the fax message (step 186 in FIG. 9). The received faxmessage is then placed in the fax mailbox of the subscriber in thesubscriber's account (step 188 in FIG. 9).

The guest may also initiate the fax process from the guest menu. In suchan instance the guest caller chooses the option to send a facsimilemessage from the guest menu (step 190 in FIG. 10). The ARU 20 thentransfers the call to the VFP 32 with a mode indicator. In thisinstance, the mode indicator has a value of 2 to specify that the guestcaller is leaving a fax, possibly with a voice annotation (step 192 inFIG. 10). The VFP then offers the option to the guest caller to record avoice annotation (step 194 in FIG. 10). If the guest caller selects theoption (see step 196 in FIG. 10), the voice annotation is recorded (step198 in FIG. 10) and attached to the fax message (step 200 in FIG. 10).Otherwise, the fax message is received as has been described above (step202 in FIG. 10). In both cases the fax message (with or withoutannotation) is put into the fax mailbox of the subscriber as has beendescribed above (step 204 in FIG. 10).

F. Subscriber Services

When a subscriber calls into the platform 10, the user scripted with theguest menu enters his pass code and is presented with a different menuthan guest callers. The subscriber main menu presents the subscriberwith the following options:

1. Change call routing.

2. Send/retrieve mail.

3. Place a call.

4. Administration.

0. Customer service. This assumes that the subscriber has subscribed toall of these services. In cases where a subscriber subscribes to lessthan all of these services, fewer options may be presented.

1. Routing

When the subscriber chooses option 1 to change routing, the subscriberis prompted with a second menu that enables the subscriber to eitherchange the Findme routing, the override routing, or alternate routing.The Findme routing has been described above. With respect to Findmerouting, the user may change the three number telephone sequence and maychange the schedules that are associated with the routing. Overriderouting refers to an instance when the subscriber desires to overridethe guest menu options for guest callers and prescribe a singletreatment for callers. This may include sending calls to voicemail,prompting a page to the subscriber, utilizing Findme routing, and soforth. When the user selects the option for override routing, the useris able to configure what overrides are to be utilized. These overridesare part of the configurability of the service options discussed above.

2. Voicemail/Faxmail

The subscriber may choose to retrieve voicemail messages or faxmessages. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that areperformed in such an instance where a subscriber chooses to retrievevoicemail and/or a fax message. Initially, the subscriber chooses thesend/retrieve message option from the user menu that is presented by theARU 20 (step 218 in FIG. 13). The ARU 20 then puts a subscriber on holdwhile a call to the VFP is being originated (step 220 in FIG. 13). TheACP 24 sends a call context message to the AP 46 to transfer the call tothe VFP 32 (step 222 in FIG. 13). The AP sends a command to the ACD 18to originate the call to the VFP 32 (step 224 in FIG. 13). The ACD 18then originates the call to the VFP 32 via RLT 16 to the switch network14 (step 226 in FIG. 13).

The VFP 32 receives the call from the ACD 18 and answers the call (step118 in FIG. 13). The NAS 22 outpulses a subscriber's number and modeindicator as provided by the ACP 24 (step 230 in FIG. 13). The VFP 32confirms and retrieves the subscriber's account from the subscriberprofile (step 232 in FIG. 13). The ACD 18 then releases the RLT 16 tothe switch network 14 so as to release the subscriber's call from theARU 20 and the call to the VFP 32 (step 234 in FIG. 13). The switchnetwork 14 then connects the subscriber call to the VFP call (step 236in FIG. 13). The VFP 32 then receives the call and plays the menu forthe subscriber that allows the subscriber to send a voicemail message,send a facsimile message, retrieve a voicemail message or retrieve afacsimile message. The subscriber chooses one of these options (see step240 in FIG. 13).

Suppose that the subscriber chooses to retrieve a voicemail message. Insuch a case, the VFP 32 plays back voicemail messages to the subscriber,if there are any, per subscriber request (step 242 in FIG. 14A).Alternatively, the text of the voice message may be sent to printer/fax31. Speech recognition technology may be employed to convert the voicemessage into text in the VFP. In this fashion, the subscriber may get ahard copy of the message or may have a fax sent to him. All of the voicemessages for a subscriber may be consolidated into a single document ifdesired. A subscriber may also be presented with the option of using theauto-callback feature (step 244 in FIG. 14A). If the subscriber choosesnot to use the auto-callback feature, script processing by the VFPcontinues to enable the user to listen to additional voicemail messages,delete the message, forward the message, and the like (step 246 in FIG.14A). The auto-callback feature enables a subscriber to automaticallyplace a call in response to the voicemail message. The subscriber mayselect the auto-callback feature, for example, by depressing the “#” keyfor at least two seconds. More generally, this feature may be selectedby tone response, voice response or DTMF response. In response to thisselection, the bridging switch releases the VFP 32 and originates acallback to the ARU 20 (step 248 in FIG. 14A). The switch network 14routes the call to the ACD 18 (step 250 in FIG. 14A). The ACD 18receives the call and an indication that the call is being reoriginatedfrom the VFP 32. The ACD 18 queries AP 46 for routing information (step252 in FIG. 14A). The AP 46 responds with instructions to route the callto the ARU 20 (step 254 in FIG. 14A). The ACD 18 then routes the call tothe NAS 22 (step 256 in FIG. 14A). The NAS 22 receives the call anddetects the tone (step 258 in FIG. 14A).

In conjunction with the ACD's routing of the call to the NAS 22, the AP46 sends a message to the ACP 24 that contains call context information(step 260 in FIG. 14A). The ACP 24 queries the VFP 32 for call contextinformation and an ANI (step 262 in FIG. 14A). The VFP responds with therequested information (step 264 in FIG. 14A). The ARU 20 then puts asubscriber on hold while placing the call to the destination determinedby the call context information and ANI provided by the VFP.Specifically, information regarding the phone number to which theauto-callback is to be made is received from the VFP. The ARU puts thesubscriber on hold while placing the call (step 266 in FIG. 14A) and theACP 24 sends the call context information to the AP 46 to place a callto the number designated by the ANI (step 268 in FIG. 14A). The AP 46then sends commands to the ACD 18 to originate the call to the ANI (step270 in FIG. 14B). The ACD 18 originates the call to the ANI via RLT 16to switch network 14 (step 272 in FIG. 14B).

The ACD 18 releases to the switch network 14 the subscriber's call fromthe ARU and the call to the ANI (step 280 in FIG. 14B). The switchnetwork 14 connects the subscriber call to the ANI (step 282 in FIG.14B). Eventually, the call completes, such as by the subscriber hangingup the phone. However, the subscriber may stay on the line and bereturned to the ARU 20. The subscriber indicates that the subscriber isinterested in reoriginating the call, such as by depressing the “#” keyon a phone pad for two seconds. In this case, the switch network 14reinitiates a call to the ACD 18 using the subscriber's number (step 286in FIG. 14B). The subscriber then accesses his account at the ARU in thecurrent context (step 288 in FIG. 14B). In other words, the context ofthe ARU script processing that the subscriber left is returned to (step288 in FIG. 14B). The ARU 20 then transfers the subscriber back to theVFP 32 (step 290 in FIG. 14B). The VFP reads the subscriber's profileand places the subscriber at the same point the subscriber was in beforethe auto-callback was performed (step 300 in FIG. 14B).

The subscriber may also choose to retrieve a facsimile message (see step240 in FIG. 13). In response to a prompt from the VFP, the subscriberselects facsimile messages to receive (see step 302 in FIG. 15). The VFP32 prompts a subscriber for the destination number from which thefacsimile messages are to be retrieved (step 304 in FIG. 15). Thesubscriber then enters the destination number (step 306 in FIG. 15) andthe VFP 32 originates a call to the destination number (step 308 in FIG.15). If the call is not answered (see step 310 in FIG. 15), the VFP 32notifies the subscriber that the facsimile retrieval has failed (step312 in FIG. 15). The sending of the facsimile and the notification offailure need not be performed in real time.

It should be appreciated that facsimile messages may include electronicmail (e-mail attachments). Most computers currently support the sendingand receiving of facsimile messages over modems. The e-mail attachmentsto facsimile messages may also be sent over the modems. An e-mailattachment may be stripped off and viewed at the destination via ane-mail program.

If, on the other hand, the call is answered (see step 310 in FIG. 15),the VFP 32 sends all the retrieved fax messages to the destinationnumber (step 314 in FIG. 15). Subsequently, the VFP notifies thesubscriber of the successful retrieval of the facsimile messages (step316 in FIG. 15). The VFP then continues with normal script processing(step 318 in FIG. 15).

When the subscriber wishes to send a voice message, the call istransferred to the VFP in response to the selection of a send/retrievemessages option and the VFP prompts the subscriber to enable therecording and sending of a voice message. In particular, as shown inFIG. 11, the subscriber records a voice message in response to a VFPprompt (step 206 in FIG. 11). The subscriber also specifies therecipients for the voice message (step 208 in FIG. 11). The VFP thendelivers the voice message to the voicemail boxes of the designatedrecipients (step 210 in FIG. 11).

The VFP 32 also enables the subscriber to send a fax message. In such acase, the subscriber specifies the recipients that are intended toreceive the fax message (step 212 in FIG. 12). The facsimile messagesare received by the VFP (step 214 in FIG. 12) and deposited in thefacsimile mailboxes of the recipients (step 216 in FIG. 12). The usermay specify delivery time and the source of the facsimile message amongother options.

3. Outbound Calls

A subscriber may also place a call via the platform 10. A subscriber mayplace a call by selecting a speed-dial number, an international number,a domestic number or via operator assistance. Moreover, the platform mayinclude intelligence for presenting the user with predefined phonenumber options and placing a call after the user has selected one of theoptions. All of these calls may be billed to the single accountassociated with the subscriber phone number. A number of other billingoptions may also be employed, including billing the calls to a corporateaccount to which other subscribers may also bill calls. These calls mayalso be billed to a credit card or a calling card account as specifiedby the subscriber. FIGS. 16A and 16B show the steps that are performedin such an instance.

A subscriber may call into their own account on the platform 10 to placeone or more outbound calls. This may include domestic calls andinternational calls. The calls may be billed to the subscriber'saccount, a credit card or a calling card.

Initially, a subscriber chooses to place an outbound call. As wasdiscussed above, this is one of the subscriber menu options that isavailable to a subscriber via the platform 10 (step 320 in FIG. 16A).The subscriber then implicitly or explicitly chooses a billing option.In general, a subscriber only needs to specify a credit card number or aPIN number once in order to establish billing (step 322 in FIG. 16A).The subscriber then chooses what type of number to dial (i.e., aspeed-dial number, international number or a domestic number) (step 324in FIG. 16A). The ARU 20 prompts the user for one of these choices. TheARU 20 also prompts the user for the phone number (step 326 in FIG.16A). The subscriber enters either the speed-dial digits for the numberor enters the entire telephone number.

The platform 10 then proceeds to take steps to realize the outboundcall. The ARU 20 sends a message to the AP 46 specifying that asubscriber wishes to place an outbound call (step 328 in FIG. 16A). TheAP 46 then instructs the ACD 18 to establish a conference with the NAS,the originating leg of the call and the new call being originated (step330 in FIG. 16A). The NAS 22 then outpulses the terminating telephonenumber for the destination to initiate the call to the destination (step332 in FIG. 16A).

The ACD 18 releases the NAS 22 and sends a release message to thebridging switch (step 334 in FIG. 16B). The bridging switch completesthe call and releases the ACD 18 from the call (step 336 in FIG. 16B).The call is eventually terminated (step 338 in FIG. 16B). The subscribermay then reoriginate to return from the user menu (steps 339 and 340 inFIG. 16B).

The outbound calling options are described in more detail in co-pendingapplication entitled, “Outbound Calling Services on a TelecommunicationsService Platform,” which was filed on even data herewith and is assignedto a common assignee and which is explicitly incorporated by referenceherein.

4. Administration

A subscriber may also access certain administrative functions by callingthe platform, using the subscriber telephone number. The subscriberchooses the administration option from the subscriber menu (see step 342in FIG. 17). The subscriber is then presented with an administrationmenu (step 344 in FIG. 17) which presents the subscriber the menu optionof: list maintenance, record greetings, and activate/deactivatefeatures. If the subscriber chooses the list maintenance option (seestep 346 in FIG. 17) the subscriber is able to alter and reviewbroadcast lists as well as speed-dial lists. The subscriber may insteadchoose to record new greetings (see step 348 in FIG. 17). Theadministration function allows the user to record greetings, such as themailbox name and a welcome message (step 354 in FIG. 17).

The administrative functions may also be used to activate and deactivateall guest menu options by choosing the activate/deactivate featuresoption (step 350 in FIG. 17). The subscriber is then presented with afeature activation menu (step 356 in FIG. 18A). The subscriber choosesone of the menu options (step 358 in FIG. 18A), one of the options iscall screening which enables the subscriber to choose the call screeningoptions (see steps 360 and 362 in FIG. 18A). The subscriber may chooseto have call screening invoked such that a guest caller is identified tothe subscriber when a call is placed to the subscriber. The informationmay include the caller's name, the caller's ANI or both types ofinformation. When call name screening is in place, the caller reachesthe ARU 20 and processing continues until an outbound call is to beplaced to the terminating number specified by the subscriber. The ARUthen prompts the caller for the caller's name. The caller speaks hisname and the NAS records the speaker's name. The ARU then puts a calleron hold and places the outbound call. When a live answer picks up, theARU 20 plays the recorded message that contains the caller's spoken nameand the subscriber may then choose to accept or refuse the call.

The subscriber may choose the option to activate/deactivate paging (step364 in FIG. 18A). The subscriber may toggle the activation/deactivationof paging. The subscriber may also set pager options by choosing pagernotification options from the menu. Pager notification can be configuredto page on receipt of all new messages or only on receipt of urgentmessages. One option is for the user to be sent a scrolling message ofall names and telephone numbers for parties attempting to reach thesubscriber. The name may be associated with the ANI of the call or maybe derived by prompting the caller. The subscriber may set options to beinformed of pages by voicemail only, by facsimile only, by a combinationof voicemail and facsimile or may request that there be no notification(see step 370 in FIG. 18A).

The subscriber may also choose to be informed of incoming messages ofall types (e.g., voicemail, faxmail, page, e-mail, video mail) while ona telephone call. The system may generate a low volume whisper message(of substantially lower volume than a typical conversation) or a tonethat identifies that a message or call has arrived. The type of incomingmessage may be identified by the whisper message along with informationregarding the content or time of arrival of the message. The ACP may beinformed of the receipt of the incoming message and, in response,generate the tone or whisper message for the subscriber if thesubscriber is on a phone call. The subscriber may choose theactivate/deactivate account option (step 372 in FIG. 18A) to activate ordeactivate the subscriber's account.

The subscriber may choose the option of activating/deactivatingvoicemail messaging (see steps 376 and 378 in FIG. 18B). The subscribermay toggle the activation/deactivation of facsimile messaging (step 380and 382 in FIG. 18B). Lastly, the subscriber may activate or deactivateFindme routing (steps 384 and 386 in FIG. 18B).

The subscriber also has the option of changing routing options (step 351in FIG. 17). Selection of this option provides the user with routingchoices that enable the user to change the current routing (step 353 inFIG. 17).

While the present invention has been described with reference to apreferred embodiment thereof, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat various changes in form and detail may be made without departingfrom the intended scope of the present invention as defined in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. In a telecommunications system, a platform forproviding configurable access to multiple telecommunications services onbehalf of a subscriber, comprising: an interface for providing saidsubscriber configurable access to the multiple telecommunicationsservices via a single phone number; a voice mail system for recordingvoicemail messages for said subscriber; and a speech recognizer forconverting the voicemail messages into textual representations, whereinthe platform is configurable to provide the textual representation tothe subscriber and an audio indication to the subscriber notifying thesubscriber of an incoming textual representation when the subscriber ison a telephone call.
 2. The platform of claim 1, further comprising: adelivery mechanism for delivering at least a scheduled one of thetextual representations to a destination specified by the subscriber. 3.The platform of claim 2, wherein the telecommunications system includesa printer and wherein the delivery mechanism delivers the selectedtextual representation to the printer.
 4. The platform of claim 2,wherein the telecommunications system includes a facsimile machine andwherein the delivery mechanism delivers the selected textualrepresentation to the facsimile machine.
 5. The platform of claim 1,further comprising: a paging subsystem for generating pages to thesubscriber.
 6. The platform of claim 1, further comprising: a facsimilesubsystem for recording facsimile messages for the subscriber.
 7. Theplatform of claim 1, further comprising: a routing subsystem for routingcalls destined to the subscriber to alternative destinations.
 8. Theplatform of claim 1, further comprising: a delivery mechanism fordelivering at least a selected one of the textual representations to anInternet destination specified by the subscriber.
 9. The platform ofclaim 1, further comprising: an automated telephone number dialingsystem for automatically dialing a stored telephone number.
 10. Theplatform of claim 1, further comprising: a video mail system forrecording video mail messages for the subscriber.
 11. The platform ofclaim 1, further comprising: an audible menu of options provided to thesubscriber and a voice navigation system for permitting the subscriberto select menu options using voice commands.
 12. The platform of claim1, further comprising: a billing system for billing the subscriber forconverting the voice mail messages.
 13. The platform of claim 1, whereinthe audio indication is a low volume whisper message.
 14. In atelecommunications system having a platform for providing configurableaccess to multiple telecommunications services including voicemailservice, on behalf of a subscriber, wherein said platform includes aninterface for providing said configurable access to the multipletelecommunications services and a speech recognizer, a methodcomprising: providing a voicemail message that is stored for thevoicemail service; using a speech recognizer to translate the voicemailmessage into a textual representation; forwarding the textualrepresentation to a configurable subscriber specified destination; andproviding an audio indication of the incoming textual representation tothe subscriber when the subscriber is on a telephone call.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the destination is a printer.
 16. The methodof claim 14, wherein the destination is a facsimile machine.
 17. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the destination is an Internet address. 18.The method of claim 14, further comprising: providing a video mailmessage stored for a video mail service, and wherein using the speechrecognizer translates an audio portion of the video mail message into atextual representation.
 19. The method of claim 14, further comprisingcreating a billing record after forwarding the textual informationrepresentation.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein the destination is apaging service.
 21. The method of claim 14, wherein the audio indicationis a low volume whisper message.
 22. In a telecommunications systemhaving a platform for providing configurable access to multipletelecommunications services including voicemail services, on behalf of asubscriber, wherein said platform includes an interface for providingsaid configurable access to the multiple telecommunications services anda speech recognizer, a method comprising the steps of: providing avoicemail message that is stored for the voicemail services; using thespeech recognizer to translate the voicemail message into a textualrepresentation; forwarding the textual representation to a configurablesubscriber specified destination; providing an additional voicemailmessage that is stored for the voicemail services; using the speechrecognizer to translate the additional voicemail message into a textualrepresentation; encapsulating the textual representation of theadditional voicemail message into a common document with the textualrepresentation of the voicemail message; and forwarding the document tothe subscriber-specified destination.
 23. In a telecommunications systemhaving a platform for providing configurable access to multipletelecommunications services including voicemail services, on behalf of asubscriber, wherein said platform includes an interface for providingsaid configurable access to the multiple telecommunications services anda speech recognizer, a computer-readable medium holdingcomputer-executable instructions for performing a method comprising:providing a voicemail message that is stored for the voicemail service;using the speech recognizer to translate the voicemail message into atextual representation; configuring a telecommunications server forforwarding the textual representation to a subscriber-specifieddestination; and providing an audio indication of the forwarded textualrepresentation to the subscriber when the subscriber is on a telephonecall.
 24. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein thedestination is a printer.
 25. The computer-readable medium of claim 23,wherein the destination is a facsimile machine.
 26. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the destination is apaging subsystem.
 27. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, whereinthe destination is an Internet address.
 28. The computer-readable mediumof claim 23, further comprising providing a video mail message stored bya video mail service, and wherein using the speech recognizer translatesan audio portion of the video mail message into a textualrepresentation.
 29. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, furthercomprising creating a billing record after forwarding the textualrepresentation.
 30. In a telecommunications system having a platform forproviding configurable access to multiple telecommunications servicesincluding voicemail services, on behalf of a subscriber, wherein saidplatform includes an interface for providing said configurable access tothe multiple telecommunications services and a speech recognizer, acomputer-readable medium holding computer-executable instructions forperforming a method comprising: providing a voicemail message that isstored for the voicemail service; using the speech recognizer totranslate the voicemail message into a textual representation;configuring a telecommunications server for forwarding the textualrepresentation to a subscriber-specified destination; providing anadditional voicemail message that is stored for the voicemail services;using the speech recognizer to translate the additional voicemailmessage into a textual representation; encapsulating the textualrepresentation of the additional voicemail message into a commondocument with the textual representation of the voicemail message; andforwarding the document to the subscriber-specified destination.
 31. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 30, wherein forwarding the document tothe subscriber specified destination forwards the document to anInternet address.